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Wednesday, September 7, 2005
The Rosa Parks Middle School student claimed that it was his belt buckle that kept setting off the metal detector.
But Monique Smith, a Detroit Public Schools public safety officer, wasn’t buying it. Following her instincts, she patted down the student and discovered a loaded .22 caliber pistol.
William Jackson and Anginise Daniels, two public safety officers assigned to Southeastern High School, rushed outdoors when they heard screams. They found a robber preying on a female staff member. They ran after the robber, subdued him and turned him over to the local police department. The robber was later convicted.
Calvin Taylor, an officer who worked at University School, may have single-handedly saved the lives of scores of children one day during the last school year. Taylor was making his rounds when he discovered a classroom on fire. He alerted the fire department, evacuated the building and then extinguished the fire before it caused more damage.
Taylor, Jackson, Daniels and Smith are among many DPS public safety officers who will be receiving citations from the District later this month. The officers include those who apprehended the vandals who caused the widely publicized damage at the old Detroit School of Arts building. The awards, which are part of a effort by the District’s Department of Public Safety to honor the hard work of its officers, will be presented in four categories: unit citation, drug enforcement, life saving and the gallantry star. These officers are part of a team of more than 300 officers who protect lives and property at the District’s 230 schools. The officers include 40 sworn police officers who patrol the areas surrounding the schools around the clock.
“These public safety officers put themselves in harm’s way every day for the sake of our students, teachers and staff,” said William F. Coleman III, CEO of the Detroit Public Schools. “They are a critical part of the education of our young people. The stories that led to these awards are just a fraction of the many wonderful things they do to make our schools safer.”
Taylor, who helped put out the fire at University School, will receive a citation for life saving. Also being honored in that category will be Christina Triplett, Jeanine Swanigan and Beverly Fuller, three officers who assisted a Henry Ford High School student who delivered a baby in the bathroom. The officers took care of the young mother until emergency medical personnel arrived.
George Lacefield, a public safety officer assigned to Henry Ford High School, will receive a unit citation and another award for drug enforcement. The latter is for detecting students carrying more than 15 bags of marijuana. Jackson and Daniels are the only officers who will be honored with the Gallantry Star. The Gallantry Star is awarded to officers for actions in which they risk their personal safety.
Other officers receiving awards are: Andrea Wooten, DeAndrea Hall, Patricia Harris, Monica Hill, Ingrid Kennedy, Stacey Miller and Donald Coleman. The awards will be presented at the September 21 meeting of the Detroit Board of Education at Spain Elementary School.
